Research Turtles "Mankiller Part 1 of 2"

(www.researchturtles.com) Not a prequel to Hall and Oates' "Maneater" nor a tribute to the late Cherokee chief Wilma Mankiller, but nonetheless this EP features some keyboards that harken back to H&O's heyday and at times they rock with the regality of a head of state. While the opening ballad is not my cup of tea, the title track and the slinky "Rhinestone Gal" both got me poking my head out of my shell to bop and groove. Research Turtles, as always, are exponentially better than researching for your dissertation about the band Tortoise.